Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie called out former President Trump for skipping out on the GOP debates, even giving the 45th president a nickname if he continues to be a no-show.
"We've got to bring law and order back to this country and not just in our cities, but we need law and order back everywhere," Christie said. "When you go on our back in our suburbs, people are threatened there. We need it in our rural areas. People feel threatened there and we need it in Washington, D.C. also. And Donald Trump should be here to answer for that, but he's not."
Christie then looked into the camera and gave Trump a message.
"Donald, I know you're watching. You can't help yourself. I know you're watching. OK. And you're not here tonight, not because of polls and not because of your indictments. You're not here tonight because you're afraid of being on the stage and defending your record. You're ducking these things. And let me tell you what's going to happen. You keep doing that. No one up here is going to call you Donald Trump anymore. We're going to call you a Donald Duck."
Trump wasn't impressed.
"Anybody that would come up with that nickname shouldn't be running for president," he told Fox News Digital.
The former Republican governor continued using the name even after the debate.
https://t.co/pDOEFoSX9f pic.twitter.com/D9rCyJO9K3
— Chris Christie (@GovChristie) September 28, 2023
Hey Donald Duck.
— Chris Christie (@GovChristie) September 28, 2023
We could have talked about this if you had the guts to show up.
Keep duckin. pic.twitter.com/dF3eTAaQaE
Christie's criticism of Trump continued throughout the event, including when Fox Business Network debate moderator Dana Perino asked the candidates on stage who "should be voted off the island" given that Trump will win the nomination if all of them remain in the race.
Instead of calling out his opponents present at the debate, Christie took aim at Trump.
“I’d vote Donald Trump off the island right now,” Christie answered.
“Look, this guy has not only divided our party. He’s divided families all over this country. He’s divided friends all over this country,” the former governor said, adding, “He needs to be voted off the island and he needs to be taken out of this process.”
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